Chamber of Deputies approves new bureau-de-change rules proposed by CNB

The Chamber of Deputies today approved an amendment to the Act on Bureau-de-Change Activity initiated by the Czech National Bank. The law should better protect clients from the unfair practices of some bureaux-de-change thanks to a provision preventing the declaration of "VIP rates" and giving clients the opportunity to cancel a transaction within three hours of entering into it.

The issue of bureaux-de-change in the centre of Prague has long resonated in guidebooks for foreign tourists, jeopardising the reputation of both the capital city and the country as a whole. The Czech National bank has repeatedly dealt with tourists' complaints about bureaux-de-change offering disadvantageous exchange rates or charging unusually high commissions, and has been conducting inspections in the bureaux-de-change. The CNB imposes penalties if it finds breaches of the law. In June 2018, it withdrew the licence of Chequepoint because of repeated violations of legal duties relating to the carrying on of bureau-de-change activities.

However, all the above steps are consequential actions which cannot protect clients when entering into transactions at a bureau de change. The CNB, which has no legislative initiative, was the main initiator of the amendment approved today. It presented the main principles of the amendment to the Ministry of Finance of the Czech Republic in December 2016.

The amendment, which is yet to be debated by the Senate of the Czech Republic and signed into law by the President, prevents the declaration of advantageous "VIP rates" and specifies requirements for the information to be provided on exchange rate lists. Clients will also be able to withdraw from a contract on a bureau-de-change transaction within three hours of entering into it. The proposed changes are expected to enter into force before the start of the main tourist season.

Principles for changing money safely can be found in the ČNBvlog on the central bank's website.

Markéta Fišerová
Director of the Communications Division and CNB Spokesperson